School options in Mt. Rainier?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are thinking about buying in Mt. Rainier, and would like to hear about recent experiences with both public and private school options. For public, how are parents liking Mt. Rainier Elementary? For privates, what schools are you typically sending your kids to, and how hard is it to get in?

I did a search and couldn't find anything recent, and don't have any friends in that area to talk to so I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What grade(s) are you looking for? Mt Rainier Elem is a good option and a lot of families send their kids there. Thomas Stone is the other Mt. Rainier Elem and it's not as highly regarded- though improving.
Lots of parents also lottery into the French Immersion or Montessori (get in at 3 or it's v hard)
For private, locals do St. Jeromes in Hyattsville, Christian Family Montessori (now in Petworth, formerly in Mt Rainier) and Community Friends School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What grade(s) are you looking for? Mt Rainier Elem is a good option and a lot of families send their kids there. Thomas Stone is the other Mt. Rainier Elem and it's not as highly regarded- though improving.
Lots of parents also lottery into the French Immersion or Montessori (get in at 3 or it's v hard)
For private, locals do St. Jeromes in Hyattsville, Christian Family Montessori (now in Petworth, formerly in Mt Rainier) and Community Friends School.

Thanks - my kid is only a toddler so for now, focusing on elementary, but I'd love to hear about options beyond that.

[Anonymous]

Generally speaking, how hard is it to get a spot at Community Friends?

[Anonymous]

I have a 2nd grader at Mt. Rainier. His 1st grade and 2nd grade teachers are/were really great. His K teacher was very disappointing, but I'm sure she will be gone by the time your kid gets there. The principal is very engaged and responsive. I'm very happy with Mt. Rainier Elementary, but unsure yet what we will do for middle or high school. There is also DeMatha for high school if your kid is male and you are okay with a Catholic school. I have friends who have had kids in St. Jerome's and were very happy there.

For after school care in Mount Rainier, Joe's Movement Emporium is great, and really the only acceptable option. MRE doesn't offer after care, but maybe they will eventually given the influx of new families moving in. Do NOT even think about Caloramis YMCA, it's terrible.

I bought in Mt. Rainier back in 2004 and it's seriously amazing how much it has improved. There are seriously tons of new families with young kids moving in.

[Anonymous]

I live in Cheverly but we are zoned for some of the same specialty programs.

A lot of our families are in the Chavez Dual Immersion program and it seems like it is easier to get into than French Immersion.

The TAG center for Mt Rainer is Glenarden Woods which is highly regarded. They made it through their entire waitlist this year for 2nd grade so your odds of getting in are pretty good if your child is TAG identified. In PGCPS they basically use a cut off of above the 80% percentile on an intelligence test for TAG identification.
I have never heard of anyone not getting into Friends School.

DeMatha is good as is their sister school Elizabeth Seton High School. It is just up the road near Bladensburg High School.

[Anonymous]

Bump - any current Mt Rainier elementary parents here? Our money would go a lot further there when it comes to housing than a lot of similar areas, but all we can find online is GS ratings, none of our friends have school age kids yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump - any current Mt Rainier elementary parents here? Our money would go a lot further there when it comes to housing than a lot of similar areas, but all we can find online is GS ratings, none of our friends have school age kids yet.

If you have any time in your schedule, swing by the school at dismissal and ask parents who are picking up. You will get to school in action and get an idea of the environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bump - any current Mt Rainier elementary parents here? Our money would go a lot further there when it comes to housing than a lot of similar areas, but all we can find online is GS ratings, none of our friends have school age kids yet.

If you have any time in your schedule, swing by the school at dismissal and ask parents who are picking up. You will get to school in action and get an idea of the environment.

This would be hard to do since we live on the other side of the DMV right now - I'd have to take a half day off work, which is a bit much to drop hy somewhere and interrupt people in their routine. I would come up for e.g. an organized meet and greet with parents (the Hyattsville PTA set one up and that was so helpful) or open house. I've also tried contacting the PTA at another nearby school but no response.

[Anonymous]

My child goes to a magnet but the people I know there are happy with it. No school is perfect but there are so many new families moving in to MtR; it’s only getting more popular.

You could try contacting Pamela Boozer-Strother who is the former PTA president (I think) and current BOE member.

[Anonymous]

Elementary sounds like it could be on but will families follow the trajectory of the hill 10 or 15 years ago (or even today) where people move at higher elementary or middle if they don't get into a charter and private isn't an option? I suppose tag could help if your kid is in there but then does that further suppress any momentum into middle and high school? We are interested in Mt Ranier and some other parts of PG county but don't want to move (or have all of our friends move) in 8ish years. People say they will stay but it takes a really long time for that to really happen (see the hill).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary sounds like it could be on but will families follow the trajectory of the hill 10 or 15 years ago (or even today) where people move at higher elementary or middle if they don't get into a charter and private isn't an option? I suppose tag could help if your kid is in there but then does that further suppress any momentum into middle and high school? We are interested in Mt Ranier and some other parts of PG county but don't want to move (or have all of our friends move) in 8ish years. People say they will stay but it takes a really long time for that to really happen (see the hill).

I think that is a huge problem. Hyattsville Middle School's reputation is improving so more and more people are sending their kids there. We live in Cheverly and we see some of our friends moving around middle school age, most of the time is it out of the area, not just to MoCo or NoVa. Most people in town just figure something out for Middle School. Magents, private school, home school etc.
PGCPS needs to step up their game with respect to improving local middle schools and magnet programs at MS level. I think expanding 6-8 grade at the performing arts programs, starting a middle school IB magnet are fairly low hanging fruit. I think having more "school within a school" programs would help too. For example Hyattsville MS has an Arts Magnet program.

Our local MS is in a new gorgeous building but none of the white middle class parents of Cheverly are willing to send their kids there....I'm one of them.

[Anonymous]

Well, PGCPS is not DC. We don’t have the vast charter system that DC has. The immersion and Montessori magnets can only be entered in PreK or K. As your child advances the options become more TAG or performing arts based. Sometimes those are pull out programs and some are test-in.
Obv some attrition from moving and private schools as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elementary sounds like it could be on but will families follow the trajectory of the hill 10 or 15 years ago (or even today) where people move at higher elementary or middle if they don't get into a charter and private isn't an option? I suppose tag could help if your kid is in there but then does that further suppress any momentum into middle and high school? We are interested in Mt Ranier and some other parts of PG county but don't want to move (or have all of our friends move) in 8ish years. People say they will stay but it takes a really long time for that to really happen (see the hill).

I think that is a huge problem. Hyattsville Middle School's reputation is improving so more and more people are sending their kids there. We live in Cheverly and we see some of our friends moving around middle school age, most of the time is it out of the area, not just to MoCo or NoVa. Most people in town just figure something out for Middle School. Magents, private school, home school etc.
PGCPS needs to step up their game with respect to improving local middle schools and magnet programs at MS level. I think expanding 6-8 grade at the performing arts programs, starting a middle school IB magnet are fairly low hanging fruit. I think having more "school within a school" programs would help too. For example Hyattsville MS has an Arts Magnet program.

Our local MS is in a new gorgeous building but none of the white middle class parents of Cheverly are willing to send their kids there....I'm one of them.

Thanks PP. Middle school and high school are definitely concerns but that is the case for so much of PG County. Do you have your kids in public in Cheverly for elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elementary sounds like it could be on but will families follow the trajectory of the hill 10 or 15 years ago (or even today) where people move at higher elementary or middle if they don't get into a charter and private isn't an option? I suppose tag could help if your kid is in there but then does that further suppress any momentum into middle and high school? We are interested in Mt Ranier and some other parts of PG county but don't want to move (or have all of our friends move) in 8ish years. People say they will stay but it takes a really long time for that to really happen (see the hill).

I think that is a huge problem. Hyattsville Middle School's reputation is improving so more and more people are sending their kids there. We live in Cheverly and we see some of our friends moving around middle school age, most of the time is it out of the area, not just to MoCo or NoVa. Most people in town just figure something out for Middle School. Magents, private school, home school etc.
PGCPS needs to step up their game with respect to improving local middle schools and magnet programs at MS level. I think expanding 6-8 grade at the performing arts programs, starting a middle school IB magnet are fairly low hanging fruit. I think having more "school within a school" programs would help too. For example Hyattsville MS has an Arts Magnet program.

Our local MS is in a new gorgeous building but none of the white middle class parents of Cheverly are willing to send their kids there....I'm one of them.

Thanks PP. Middle school and high school are definitely concerns but that is the case for so much of PG County. Do you have your kids in public in Cheverly for elementary?

Yes. My children attend Spellman. It has been a good fit for our family.